Causes
The causes of the war, like most historical events, are disputed.
Perhaps the main cause was the risen power of Germany as it had
rapidly industrialized since unification in 1870; the decline
of Austria-Hungary which wanted to prevent Serbian expansion
into Bosnia but was itself on the point of dissolution into several
nation states; the decline of the Ottoman Empire; and the ambiguous
power of Russia (strong in numbers of soldiers but weak in weapons
and command ability). Russia was developing fast and the German
government may have feared it would soon become an effective
rival (why didn't they think of Russia as a trade partner to
make both sides more prosperous? That's a modern way of thinking,
alien to the atmosphere of Nationalism of the time). There was
also the ferocious military culture in Germany, founded by the
Prussian king Friedrich der Grosse.

An uncontrolled naval arms race between Britain and Germany
was also a factor. The Emperor of Germany (Wilhelm the second)
resented the colonies of France and Britain (unaware that they
were no longer profitable) and ordered the occupation of some
for Germany.
Perhaps his character also contributed (alleged to be an egomaniac
with at least a "Personality Disorder"). In the time
of Queen Victoria, especially before Unification, the Germans
had been popular in Britain as providers of German Bands and
marriage partners for royalty. But after Unification they gradually
replaced the French as the main power to be feared. (See Riddle
of the Sands).

Norman Stone argues that German ministers and top men seem
to have developed the notion that "Russia had to be dealt
with", and thought only in terms of having a war, sooner
rather than later - when Russia would be much stronger. They
thought it would be a quick war like the war with France in 1870.
This is reminiscent of the way the "Neo-cons" associated
with George W Bush were convinced that Iraq had to be dealt with,
and saw only war as the method (and indeed continued talking
about Iran). Thus two of the world's great disasters - the first
world war and the later Iraq war had
something in common.

But the precipitating factor was the Balkan problem of numerous ethnic groups
and religions trying to form national states in an area where
nationalism
cannot produce a stable outcome. A linked system of alliances
produced a true "domino effect" by which each Great
Power was drawn into an apparently minor dispute.

Railways
An important factor was the railway timetable. This was the last
war which relied on railways to mobilize the troops. Field Marshal Von
Schlieffen the German Chief of Staff (1892-1906) had made a plan
to attack France through Belgium. His plan was so large and complicated
that no-one could face altering it. It was the only mobilization
plan available. Neither the Germans nor the Russians had intermediate
plans between peace and full mobilization. Therefore once troops
were mobilized it was difficult to hold back from an all out
war. (If troops are in trains to the designated front, the trains
cannot be stopped without paralyzing the whole country). In the
Cold War
also a missile once fired could not have been recalled.

In general the people in charge, especially in Germany, Austria
and Russia, seem to have had no understanding of the destructive
effects of the military technology of the time. Twenty first
century rulers seem to have the same problem, as can be seen
in the effects of war in Iraq, Palestine, Chechnya and Afghanistan
- or perhaps they know but don't care.

Historical Trends
In some ways both the European wars were the working out of a
conflict between France and Germany that had its roots in 1648
when the main part of the Thirty Years War had ended in the Treaty
of Westfalia. France, nominally under Louis the fourteenth but
ruled by Cardinal Mazarin, had imposed on Germany the regime
of tiny, powerless states under the influence of France. No all-German
state existed from that time. Later, there was also the brutal
occupation of Germany by the forces of Napoleon.

In the 18th century a German state began to arise in the transformation
of Brandenburg into Prussia, which developed a ferocious military
culture.

That state expanded into Poland as that kingdom was dismembered
by the surrounding powers: Russia and Austria. After the Napoleonic
wars Prussia was given land outside the eastern area where it
had arisen, in western Germany on the Rhine. The culture of the
state was one of military discipline, obedience to the king and
the authorities, and nationalism - hatred of foreigners. Under
Count Otto von Bismarck as prime minister (Chancellor) to the
king of Prussia, it absorbed all the other states of historic
Germany and became the German Empire, rapidly industrialising
and with a huge army, and a sense of grievance.

Useful Reading

New book by Norman Stone- essential
reading

Robert Graves - Goodbye to all thatErskine Childers - Riddle of the Sands

The First World War began in Sarajevo
It was in Sarajevo (in Bosnia-Herzegovina, ruled by the Habsburg
Empire) that the shot was fired which sparked off the first world
war when Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist, assassinated
the heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Ferdinand and his wife.
The result was that Austria threatened Serbia, demanding compensation.
Serbia called for help from its ally Russia (fellow Orthodox and Slav countries). Russia then
threatened Austria. Germany came to the aid of Austria (which
was more or less a satellite of Germany). Russia began to mobilize.
France was allied with Russia to counter German power. Germany
mobilized and put in motion General Von Schlieffen's plan to
fight Russia's ally France by going through Belgium. As soon
as they entered Belgium, Britain joined in because of British
policy not to allow any big power to control Belgium (and in
defence of an international treaty that all powers must respect
Belgium's neutrality). Russia invaded Germany and so all the
major powers were lined up on one side or the other. Many observers
feared that the Cold War had the same structure - but the process
might have taken minutes rather than weeks.

Gavrilo Princip, before he died in prison in 1918, on being
asked whether he regretted starting the war in which millions
had died, observed that Germany had been looking for an excuse
for war (quoted in Norman Stone).

Machine guns
Once the war had started military technology determined the events.
The machine gun had been perfected so that defence was stronger
than attack. Traditional methods of attack by massed infantry
and cavalry had been made obsolete, though unfortunately the
generals didn't notice this (a famous example of Military
Incompetence). Both sides dug in along a line from Belgium
to Switzerland. Infantry attacks against the machine guns resulted
in millions of deaths - killing on an industrial scale - the
first of the twentieth century horrors. Similar trench lines
occurred on other fronts: the Dardanelles; Greece; Italy. A "war
of movement" only occurred in Tanganyika. There was also
the war in Iraq.

Western Front
The war then settled down to the attempt to use up the other
side's men and materials. Gradually Germany became weaker earlier,
as a blockade prevented imports. The turning point occurred when
German submarines sank the Lusitania, a ship carrying American
citizens and cargo (and munitions), and the United States entered
the war, with the prospect of unlimited numbers of men and war
matériel. The invention of tanks began to turn the advantage
towards attack (not fully actualized till 1939).

Eastern Front
The war between Russia and Germany in the east had a different
pattern, mainly because Russia was not as highly industrialised
as the western powers. Russia had earlier successes but lack
of rail connections to the front and lack of material backup
made it impossible to exploit the early successes.

In the long run, Germany prevailed in the east, pushing Russian
troops back and occupying parts of Russian territory, such as
most of Poland and what are now the Baltic states.

Sideshows
Germany's ally the Ottoman Empire lost its Arab colonies, but
defended itself against the allies: British and Australian troops
at the Dardanelles. Winston Churchill as First Lord of the Admiralty
devised this attack as a way of knocking the Ottomans out of
the war. Could it have succeeded, even if implemented competently?
Probably not, but the attack was so badly led that it had no
effect other than yet more deaths, mainly of Australians.

British and Indian troops invaded Basra, Baghdad and Mausul
Vilayets in the Ottomans' backyard. The British army suffered
a huge defeat at Amarra but eventually captured Baghdad. From
Egypt British troops marched on Jerusalem. The Intelligence officer
T.E.Lawrence encouraged the Arabs in the south to rise against
Ottoman forces.

In Africa British and South African troops conquered the German
colony in South West Africa (now Namibia) and German East Africa
- a long campaign against the resourceful General von Lettow-Vorbeck.
British and French forces conquered Germany's west African colonies
in Togo and Cameroon.

The first power to drop out was Russia in 1917. Russia's industry was not
developed to a standard sufficient to fight such a war and efforts
by the allies to supply Russia were not successful. (Rasputin
is reported to have given the sensible advice to the Tsar that
Russia should not join in the war, for this very reason.) The
soldiers lacked weapons and even boots and rebelled against their
officers and the Tsar. Russia's revolutionary government (Lenin)
was forced to give up territory (Baltic states, Poland) at the
treaty of Brest-Litovsk (in Lithuania) which Germany forced on
the new revolutionary government.

At the Versaille peace conference these territories became
independent states: Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Finland.

The German supreme commander Ludendorff (effectively the ruler
of Germany) tried to win the war in summer 1918 with a surge
by sending in his armies, reinforced by the troops from the Eastern
Front after Russia dropped out. But although he gained territory
Germany was exhausted while the Allies had a new army coming
from the United States. Soon his armies collapsed and he declared
that a ceasefire was essential (he later blamed it on the politicians).
The war ended in November 1918 as revolution broke out in Germany
and a ceasefire (Armistice) was declared on 11 November 1918
at Compiègne (See the museum), northern France.

The American commander Pershing (who was not at Compiègne)
predicted that the Germans had not been defeated thoroughly enough
and would come back for a second round. So did Foche, the overall allied commander. Pershing
and President Wilson demanded "unconditional surrender",
though the terms of the Armistice were not far short. Pershing's
fears of another war proved well-founded.

The Habsburgs left the throne. Russia dissolved in revolution
as the Bolsheviks
took power. Germany lost territory to Poland and France. Its
colonies
went to Britain, France and Japan. The German monarchies ended
and the Kaiser went into exile in the Netherlands (he never was
tried). The area west of the Rhine was occupied by allied forces.
Many Germans did not accept that they had been defeated but blamed
treachery by politicians. Ludendorff, the supreme commander and
real ruler throughout the war, spread this story, though he himself
had called for a ceasefire when he realised the army could no
longer resist the Allies. This feeling fueled the rise of Hitler, preaching
Revenge and extreme nationalism.
Unfortunately it was to take an even more destructive war to
kill off European nationalism, the real cause (see European Union, the solution to these wars).

The Ottoman Empire
lost its empire in the Middle East. Out of it came:

Iraq

Jordan

Syria

Lebanon

Palestine

Turkey

Saudi Arabia

Kuwait

Russia lost its western provinces

Finland,

Estonia,

Latvia,

Lithuania,

Poland,

(parts of Ukraine).

Germany lost part of its territory in the east - part of East
Prussia and its section of Poland; in the west Germany lost Alsace-Lorraine.
All its colonies were taken. Many Germans, including Hitler,
believed Ludendorff's story that the army was "betrayed"
by the politicians, unaware that Ludendorff himself had called
for a ceasefire.

The war ended the European cultural and political dominance of the world. It left
behind the problems of:

The Russian Empire had become the Soviet
Union and had lost territory to the Baltic States, Poland
(western Ukraine) and Finland. The aristocratic culture of central
Europe had vanished.

There were millions of wounded
men and psychologically disturbed people - what is now recognised
as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Perhaps these latter were
an underlying cause of the next war, 21 years later. Millions
had been urged to commit atrocities by their "betters".
When they came home many were ashamed; others joined fascist political parties.

So many men had been killed that many
women couldn't find husbands. This affected social customs. Some
of the "surplus women" became the mainstays of social
services, orphanages, the nursing profession and so on. They
had to make their own livings and the pre-war assumption that
middle class women were supposed to be kept by their husbands
had to end. Many women had worked in factories during the war
to replace the men who were fighting. These expected to go on
working - though most lost their jobs.

Divorce became much commoner, giving
some of the "surplus" women a second chance. The old
rules had broken down.

Although the British
Empire seemed to be intact, and had even been enlarged by
the addition of Iraq and Palestine and some of the German colonies
- part of Togo, part of Kamerun, all of German East Africa, and
Papua - it was gravely weakened. One of the new states was Ireland. The
Group Feeling
that sustained it was diminished. The actions of the "Officer
Class" in sacrificing so many millions of men increased
resentment against this traditional ruling class, and their numbers
too were diminished as many heirs of estates and the traditional
rulers were killed. Perhaps as a result the rulers of the 1920s
and 30s were lesser men.

At the Peace Conference President Woodrow Wilson urged the
Powers to form a League
of Nations to prevent future wars. It was formed with a headquarters
in Geneva, Switzerland. However, he failed to persuade the US
Senate to ratify the treaty. The new Soviet Union did not join
either, and the European powers did not believe in it. The League
was seen to be ineffective and failed to prevent the wars that
led up to the second world war, especially as Germany under Hitler
withdrew from membership. Its main legacy was in the formation
of the United Nations as a successor (but the US still ignores
the UN when its government wishes).

Was it a World War?
Not really. Apart from some naval battles and a few colonial
campaigns it was a European war (but finished by the arrival
of the United States). Eighteenth century wars of colonial rivalry
- such as the Seven Years War - had better title to being world
wars as they were fought in North America, India and the Caribbean.
Little of the fighting took place outside Europe (Namibia, Tanganyika, Cameroon, Togo, Papua).
Until 1939 it was usually called The Great War. Maybe one day
it will be known as the First European Civil War. It could be
considered as the first part of a two-part war, the second
world war being the second half, to resolve the unfinished
business of the first.